Human Demand for Natural Resources

Opinion

The growing exponential curve representative of the world’s human population has driven the increase in demand for natural resources, which can be due to human needs and the contemporary way of life largely focused on capitalism. Human demand, in turn, is met by different lifestyles, in addition to corresponding and contributing to the programmed obsolescence of technological products, making them obsolete in a short period, especially when we consider that “in nature nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed” (Lavoisier’s classic saying). However, once the resource has been exploited from the natural environment and pressures on the environment have also been launched, it is up to us, consumers, to optimize to minimize and reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, when we mention the term obsolete, we can imagine the tons of inorganic waste that we throw into the environment as a result of this programmed obsolescence.

Served by the most varied sectors, especially in the demand for food, pharmacological, civil construction and fossil fuel resources, such needs directly imply the use and occupation of the soil, which consequently affects biodiversity through pressures and threats arising from the handling of the environment. Deforestation, fires, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, genetic isolation, toxicological contamination, and roadkills are some of the main impacts directly affected on wild populations by land use and occupation, of which it is necessary to quantify in order to seek ways to mitigate the impacts necessary for human survival in the current way. In addition, it is worth mentioning that changes in land use and occupation boost greenhouse gas emissions, which are directly related to the advance of climate change and the increase in Earth’s temperature, a fact that could compromise the lives of many organisms in less than a century. Furthermore, many exploratory activities require Opinion the indiscriminate use of water, which further compromises the distant continuity of a habitable planet.

In this sense, technological advances have contributed to the application of sophisticated techniques capable of expanding agricultural production, as well as other industrial processes for the improvement of natural resources exploited in the environment. In addition, the knowledge resulting from scientific research expands the theoretical support on definitions and specifications of biodiversity, so that it makes it possible to add to economic and social development, environmental awareness in the face of the peculiarities of biodiversity and biogeographic characteristics. In this scenario, renowned journals such as the International Journal of Zoology and Animal Biology offer the opportunity to disseminate science through genetic, morphological, physiological, behavioral descriptions and specific ecological relationships to species, genera or families, in addition to the presentation of research articles related to diseases in domestic animals and territorial management. However, coupled with practical knowledge about the handling of the in situ environment, it allows the elaboration and execution of works aimed at mitigating the impacts arising from the most diverse activities.

In view of this perspective, it is necessary to strengthen and expand the reach of scientific discoveries between academia and society to achieve the two-way street between theoretical and practical science in decision-making aimed at the management of natural resources, territorial planning, socio-environmental commitment and enhancement and conservation of biodiversity.